IJM's The Light to contain world-class appeal

A performing arts centre to rival Australia's Sydney Opera House, waterfront retail promenade and an international standard marina are among the attractions property developer IJM Land Bhd will unveil when it launches the second phase of its flagship waterfront "The Light" development in Penang at the end of the year.

Its managing director Datuk Soam Heng Choon yesterday said the proposed iconic arts centre, known as "The Pearl" is expected to boost a seating capacity of 2,000 and set to be sprawled over 0.8ha.

The proposed marina, meanwhile, is expected to offer club facilities with more than 200 berths.

"Also to be found in the second phase of this commercial development would be an information technology precinct for Multimedia Super Corridor-status companies and incubator firms," he said during a media launch of the company's "The Light Collection 1" in Penang.

The Light Collection 1 project, which carries a development value of RM203 million, was soft-launched in May, and Soam said half of non-Bumiputera units which are sprawled on 2.8ha have been sold so far.

Present at the launching ceremony were IJM Land general manager (north) Toh Chin Leong and one of the company's consultant architect, Eric Tham.

The Light Collection 1 is the first of four in The Light Collection series which offers 24 units of four-storey water villas and 152 condominiums in four eight-storey blocks.

While the condominiums have built-ups of 1,371 to 1,582 sq ft, the water villas, which are touted to be the first of its kind in the country, are set to boost a built-up area of 3,132 sq ft.

The units are priced from RM823,600 to RM3.18 million.

With a gross development value of RM5.5 billion, The Light is a 60.8-ha freehold waterfront development which will be built over the next 12 to 15 years.

Soam said IJM Land intends to make The Light one of the best waterfront places to live in Malaysia.

"Living by the water," he noted, "represents the highest level of luxury for many home owners."

The entire The Light development is undertaken by IJM Land's subsidiary, Jelutong Development Sdn Bhd.

The project, which will be carried out in three phases, is being touted as the biggest and best integrated residential, shopping, dining, recreational and commercial waterfront living in the northern region.

By Business Times

Mutiara Goodyear to maintain dividend

Property developer Mutiara Goodyear Development Bhd is confident to maintain its dividend payment trend despite the adoption of Issues Committee (IC) Interpretation 15 Agreements.

"We welcome the early adoption of IC Interpretation 15 as it streamlines and simplifies revenue recognition," Executive Chairman Hamidon Abdullah said in a statement today.

IC Interpretation 15 dictates that revenue recognition from property development activities will be recognised only upon full completion of projects.

Hamidon said that in the company's development profile, its focus was more towards cashflow management, development cycle time and profitability margin.

"We are confident to maintain our dividend payment trend by capitalising on the company’s established profile and the market potential moving forward. Our shareholders will see a sustained dividend payout backed by sufficient cashflow and our strong financial position," he added.

Mutiara Goodyear recently announced a dividend payout of 3.5 sen for the financial year ended 2010, representing an increase of 14.0 per cent as compared to the preceding financial years.

Hamidon said the company's Prima Avenue at Dataran Prima would be due for completion by the fourth quarter of 2010 and would positively contribute to its cashflow in the 2011 financial year.

"We are also strongly encouraged by the overwhelming response for Nadayu Melawati phase one which already achieved 80 per cent take-up rate at soft launch stage.

"We also have a pipeline of launches over the next few years in the Klang Valley and Penang which will continue to provide us with a consistent cashflow stream," he added.

With a vast track record of 35 years in the industry, Mutiara Goodyear has vast experience with various types of commercial and residential developments such as condominiums, link-houses, semi-detached, bungalows, shop offices and townships.

Its notable projects include Subang Perdana new town, Bandar Tasek Mutiara township in Penang, Lagenda Mas in Cheras and Dataran Prima Condominium.

By Bernama

Size not the only factor for success of REITs

KUALA LUMPUR: The two major real estate investment trusts (REITs) listed on Bursa Malaysia this month - Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (SunREIT) and CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust (CMMT), may have boosted the profile of Malaysian REITs (MREITs) and capture the attention of local and foreign investors, but size does not necessarily guarantee a better performance going forward, analysts said.

ECM Libra Capital Sdn Bhd research head Bernard Ching said while the REITs listed this year signified the maturing of MREITs and had managed to attract greater foreign investor participation, the performance of a trust would be dependent more on the REIT managers’ capabilities and the quality of the underlying assets injected into the REIT.

Ching said in Malaysia especially, “mega” REIT managers generally have a tough time looking for quality assets large enough to be injected into the trust, despite having greater liquidity, compared to niche and smaller REIT players. “But the larger REITs would be more on the radar of foreign fund managers because of their sheer size and visibility,” he said.

Ching said that while Malaysian investors have grown in awareness over the years in terms of investor knowledge and interest in REITs investment, the numbers were still relatively small. This despite MREITs giving two to three times better returns, compared with fixed deposit rates. “Many of the MREITs are currently giving 7% to 8% in income distribution yield,” he noted. A foreign REIT expert based in Singapore concurred with Ching that size was not the only factor to better performance for REITs. He said despite larger REITs listed on the stock exchange, MREITs were still at the infancy stage but that they were going in the right direction.

“There are still many outstanding issues that have impeded MREITs’ growth, ranging from regulatory restrictions to the lack of tax incentives for REITs players, and commercial properties in prime locations that are difficult to be placed in a trust because they don’t have strata titles and a lack of quality REIT experts and advisors to these trusts,” he said. The foreign REIT expert said there was still a lack of conviction and confidence among Malaysian investors and even some foreign investors to invest in MREITs. On the SunREIT and CMMT listing, he said the reception from local investors to the REITs were generally lukewarm, considering that both were reputable and had a good pipline of properties ready to be injected into the trusts.

“It’s still too early to tell how they will perform but they just about have it all ... the management expertise, size, and liquity to perform well, However, is there a market demand locally for these REITs?” he said.

SunREIT closed at 91 sen yesterday, which was a one sen premium over its offer price of 90 sen when it was listed on July 8.

CMMT settled at RM1.01, up one sen from its reference price of RM1 when it was listed on July 16.

By The Star